Gas leaks cause evacuations, street closures in Lubbock Tuesday

Staff Reports
Updated ·2 min read

A pair of gas leaks caused issues in portions of central and southwest Lubbock Tuesday.

Lubbock Fire Rescue was on the scene of a leak — the second of the day — at 58th and Wausau in the southwest part of the city around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday afternoon and remained on the scene as of press time.

Five homes were evacuated, and 58th Street from Winfield to Virginia avenues was closed. In addition, Wausau Avenue was shut down from 58th to 59th streets, and officials urged citizens to avoid the area.

Earlier in the day, Lubbock Fire Rescue responded to the 5300 block of 68th Street just before 11 a.m. Tuesday for reports of a cut gas line.

About 11:30 a.m., the City of Lubbock issued an LBKAlert! notifying residents that 66th Street between Albany and Bangor avenues had been shut down for drivers in response to the leak.

LFR said in a series of tweets that resources, including two Citibuses, were staged in case firefighters determined nearby residents needed to evacuate. LFR continued to monitor air quality, and officials said no such evacuations became necessary in that leak.

Atmos Energy contained the first leak around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, and LFR cleared the scene and reopened the road just after 1:40 p.m., the department said.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Gas leaks cause evacuations, street closures in Lubbock Tuesday